Ex-number one Jankovic melts away in China
Belmonte adds fly world crown to Oly gold
BEIJING, July 27, (Agencies): Former world number one Jelena Jankovic wilted in fierce heat in southeastern China, bowing out in the second round of the Jiangxi Open on Thursday in three gruelling sets.
The Serb sixth seed raced into a 6-2 first-set lead against home hope and qualifier Lu Jingjing before temperatures of 39 degrees Celsius (102F) on the Nanchang hard courts began to take their toll. An ailing Jankovic, 32, called for a medical timeout in the second set as the match started to drift away from her.
Lu romped the set 6-1 to level the match and kept her cool to win the decider 6-2 and earn a place in the last eight.
In the quarter-finals Lu will face Nao Hibino after the Japanese progressed when third seed Kristyna Pliskova, twin sister of world number one Karolina, retired with a hand injury.
The WTA tournament is wide open following the exit on Wednesday of top seed Zhang Shuai of China.
John Isner returns a backhand to Vasek Pospisil of Canada during the BB&T Atlanta Open at Atlantic Station on July 26, in
Atlanta, Georgia. (AFP)
Second-seeded John Isner beat Canada’s Vasek Pospisil 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday night in the 6-foot-10 former University of Georgia star’s opening match in the BB&T Atlanta Open.
Coming off a victory Sunday in the Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Rhode Island, Isner is seeking his fourth Atlanta title in five seasons. He lost to Nick Kyrgios in the final last year.
Isner set up a quarterfinal match at Atlantic Station against Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko, a 6-3, 6-1 winner over sixth-seeded Donald Young. The American has 11 career titles, all at the ATP World Tour 250 level.
Five-time Grand Slam champion says her 15-month doping ban has only fueled her passion for tennis.
The former world number one from Russia, preparing to play at Stanford next week in her first WTA tournament in the United States since her suspension ended, wrote on the Players’ Tribune website of the rollercoaster of emotions she has experienced since returning in April from her suspension for the use of meldonium.